God is Enough

Through a series of Bible studies recently, I have been struck with the question, "is God enough?" Of course, it would be easy to reply with the proper answer of yes, but if I am truly honest with myself there are times when I say no. There are times when I desire more than He has given me. So lately as I have thought about that I have found it encouraging to think about all that He has blessed us with so far and remind myself that even without any of that...He would still be enough! So here are a few pictures of those amazing things He has undeservedly blessed us with.

We are incredibly blessed to serve alongside some of the most amazing servants of God! They challenge us daily and lead us to strive even harder for the glory of Christ among the nations.

He has blessed us with a vision for lostness. To take the sweet aroma of Christ to those who are perishing is truly the greatest calling.

National brothers and sisters in Christ to fellowship with and work together for His kingdom and glory are such a blessing.

One of our greatest prayers for Caleb has been friendships with other children in Kalimpong. God has been abundantly gracious in that area of our lives.

Words are simply insufficient for this tremendous blessing. The joy he brings into our lives is immeasurable. As much as we desire many more children, I don't ever want to overlook the blessing God has given us in this precious soul.

Blessed to have a little playhouse for him to run in and out of.

Blessed to have a bath tub to play in (and a mother who makes his hair look too stinkin' cute).

Blessed to have an aunt that sends cute pajamas.

Blessed with the God given talent of being a boy that climbs onto anything . . .

or into anything.

Blessed to have a car to ride around town in and take long trips.

Blessed to have so many books that teach him about the greatness of our God who is always enough for us!

Thought Bubbles By Caleb

We went to a friend's house this week for a "play date". Our poor child is 15 months old and this was his first play date. He had a wonderful time and so did I!





"Pull up some pavement and grab a rock!"





"I'm going to need a tow truck at 5th and nowhere."





"Okay guys, here's the game plan..."





"GO!"





"All in a day's work!"

Christmas and Oh So Many Bugs!

We had a wonderful Christmas. One of the best ever! Amidst the sweet fellowship, good food and programs though were lots of little bugs. I wish I was talking about ants invading the house but I'm not. When we returned from Kathmandu, Caleb had a terrible cold. He had the constant runny nose and sad little cough. He slept 18 hours out of every 24 for about 5 days straight. Christmas Eve morning though he woke almost back to his normal self. We were out at the market at lunch time and things turned ugly. He threw up in three shops, the sidewalk and the road. He threw up for the next 6 hours! By Christmas morning though he was feeling better and by Christmas lunch he even ate some good food. We had a wonderful time with friends that day and feel so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by family here. Then the day after Christmas, I fell ill with the same stomach bug. I'll spare you those details. Then the next day, Caleb started having terrible diarrhea. By the next morning, he was much worse so we drove down to the "big" city to see a doctor there. Unfortunately, someone decided to close the highway in protest so we sat on the highway (no way to go forward or turn around) for 5 hours. By the time we finally got him to see a doctor it was his bedtime. The doctor determined he had picked up a parasite in Kathmandu (thank you Kathmandu for that lovely parting gift). He gave us medicine and sent us on our way. After waiting out another road closure - we finally arrived home the next day at 11pm! So, I feel the need to confess (if you made it to the end of this long story) that this Christmas picture was actually taken on New Year's Day - once we were all finally healthy! I can finally take down my tree now.

I'm going to go ahead and brag - we have the most amazing child. One shot, on self-timer and the kid is grinning for his grandparents! Merry Christmas Nana, Grandpa, Grandad and Grandma!

We had a tree decorating party with our teammates. Lights even get tangled in India!

Remember that tear-stained face we posted earlier when he bumped up against the tree? He finally got over it...praise God!

I always said I would never have a fake tree. Well, last year, we decided fake was better than a wimpy twig of a real tree. So, for now, we piece our tree together.

The local youth groups go caroling the two days before Christmas. We had a group each night. Fortunately, the first night, a Nepali friend of ours was at our house. He was gracious enough to help us not look like unknowing foreigners. Caroling here is quite different. I heard them outside and opened the door - ready to enjoy their songs. The first thing he said was, "you must shut the door!" Apparently, you aren't allow to open the door until they are completely finished and shout "Happy Christmas" (not a typo - they say 'happy' instead of 'merry')! So, they sang three songs, then, "We Wish You a Happy Christmas" and shouted Happy Christmas. Then I was to open the door, give them a plate of sweets (little pieces of chocolate) and an envelope with a gift of money for the youth group. Then as a group, they prayed over our house! Pretty amazing!

Caleb was sick for most of his gift opening endeavors. He wasn't too interested.

He liked this punching bag from our friends though!

He did not like the helmet or gloves that came with it however!

The ONE smile we got out of him while he opened gifts my mom had sent. He loves this shape sorter! Mostly he likes to open the flap and put them in that way.

Father and son with their new "Christmas" hats. Praise God Caleb is feeling better now. We had a wonderful Christmas and pray yours was equally blessed!

Traveling Around India and Nepal

We have been traveling for the last 5 weeks. We spent 10 days in Sikkim. Jared was teaching and training and Caleb and I hung out with a national family. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. We discussed lots of plans for this coming year and are looking forward to what God is going to do. Here are just a few pics of our sweet little traveling boy!

What to do when you are in a hotel room with a 1 year old for three days straight? Play with mommy's wallet of course!

Who wants to sit in the chair when you can use it as a perch for a well delivered speech?!

I'm not sure what to point out in this picture...the fact that he is pantsless (which he wasn't when he went to sleep) or the fact that he is sleeping in a bathroom?

We had an amazing Thanksgiving with old and new friends in Nepal. Caleb loved the smoked turkey and we had a great time of fellowship. There were other kids to play with and plenty of grass to run around in.

Kathmandu was wonderful but oh so cold! Jared continually dressed Caleb up like a snowman. I bought Caleb this vest as a compromise to stop the madness! He's pretty cute in it as well!

Caleb liked to sit on this couch (for about 30 seconds at a time). This morning he was "reading" with his dad. It is hard to see, but he has his own book in his hand while Jared is writing a speech in Nepali.

On our way back from Nepal, we got to stop in and see our friends Nathan and Kari. We hadn't met their little boy yet. He is soooo sweet.

Just a preview of the Christmas post to come.....Caleb definitely doesn't like the "feel" of the Christmas tree. I wrapped some garland around his neck and I thought he was going to start seizing right there! He let out a blood curtailing scream and started to shake. Then when he accidentally brushed up against the tree...well you can see what happened!

Bhutan

Here are a few pictures from Jared's time in Bhutan. There are just brief captions with these photos. If you would like to know more, please e-mail us at jmhouk@gmail.com.

A wonderful doctor from TN joined Jared on this trip! He was a great companion, offered incredible insight and we can't wait to see what God is going to do through him in Bhutan!






This was our travel agent and tour guide with his family. We couldn't have asked for a better guide!





This is a Bhutanese Dzong (monastery, main political offices and a fort in old days). These are all throughout Bhutan. When Tibet would raid the country, people would flee to these forts.





A giant prayer wheel inside the monastery at the Dzong pictured above. Buddhists spin these wheels and believe their prayers are sent out.





107 Stupas (concrete formations to which they bow down, sacrifice to and walk around in a circle) built by the new King as a blessing to the country.





Monks worshiping at the 107 Stupas.





Watching a bow and arrow shooting competition in the capitol.





A woman selling vegetables in the market.





As often as the sun sets, remember those that are trapped in darkness.

Majestic

We've lived in some really beautiful places. However, Kalimpong is by far the most beautiful - somewhat civilized - place we have lived so far. This morning as I was laying Caleb down for his nap, this is what I saw! We get to wake up every morning, open our curtains and gaze at the 3rd tallest mountain in the world! Anyone want to come visit?!

The view from our roof.

We had to get a family pic (thank you self-timer). Caleb is pointing at the flashing red light on the camera. We wanted him to stand with us, but we had to hold him because he kept running over to the camera.

After a fresh dusting of snow - how majestic is His creation!

We were on our way out for a walk to take some pictures of the mountains and Caleb was getting a ride from Dad. I had to capture the camouflage sweats from Grandad with the pink and white shoes from our Nepali friends! Can you believe how big he is getting?! Caleb that is... :)

Bath Tubs and Snuggles

Jared has had the camera with him in Bhutan, so I haven't been able to take any new pictures this week, but here are a few from last month that I didn't put up.

Try and ignore how crazy I look and focus on how sweet my little boy is when he finally slows down enough to cuddle (for all of 60 seconds).

He loves the water. One day while Jared was gone, we went out and played in his pool/bath tub in the front yard. He had a great time and the neighbors enjoyed the show!

He loves bath time. He will sit and play in the water until it is ice cold and then we have to drag him out. There's only one small problem. I recently taught him out to drink out of a cup and now he is drinking his bath water (which isn't clean)!